Effect of surface treatment on surface roughness and Ni content of nitinol stents Online publication date: Tue, 05-Jul-2016
by Yongsug Tak; Byoung-Gu Lee; Jaemin Kim; Jang Yong Kim
International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering (IJSURFSE), Vol. 10, No. 4, 2016
Abstract: Nitinol (NiTi) is a biocompatible material with hyperelastic properties. It represents a well-established shape memory alloy metal, commonly adopted in medical devices such as vascular stents. Although its biocompatibility as a base metal is of crucial importance for implanting a NiTi stent (a short and narrow metal mesh tube) into an anatomical blood vessel, the surface roughness and Ni content of the stent also represent important factors to consider, because the surface smoothness affects the biocompatibility of the implant, and the Ni exposed on the material surface is known to be toxic to surrounding living tissues. The present research thus aims to identify an optimal way to control surface roughness and Ni content on the NiTi surface, by testing the effect of four carefully chosen surface treatments. The present results show that electropolishing combined with hydration represents the treatment with the best potential to achieve the above objectives.
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